Still life season: Don't forget to renew your artistic license!

It is here and I have to admit I am anxious for it to be over already. Still life season. The weeks in the year where nothing gets put away where it SHOULD go, the room is in total disarray and my desk becomes completely lost for the remainder of the school year. So long fancy glitter desktop that I spent a week coating and layering.....I won't get to see you again until probably June. I should explain why the room transforms into a possible episode for the show Hoarders. I don't set one still life, I don't set two still lives, technically I don't set any, but in my room there are 7 still life sets AND many students set up a personal still life as well. So there is no counter space, extra table space or any extra space period. Which, in a classroom where there are almost as many sculpture students as introduction to art students that can be issue when it comes to storage space and places to put "stuff."

                      Getting back to the part where I don't set the still lives anymore........I bring in boxes and boxes of interesting items junk for the students to peruse. We spend almost a whole week setting them. A day or two "playing with the items and arranging them at seats and then begin placing them in a final setting over the next few days. While they are setting them they start creating thumbnails, and then begin final sketches in pencil, charcoal and also white charcoal on black paper. During this time we also talk about what a still life is and why artists have used them forever.  We begin discussing what makes an artwork successful, and how the arrangement and the objects of the still life can affect the final drawing. We look at what might be communicated to the viewer of the artwork.  Then we brainstorm lists of "have to find" items to truly complete their sets and finalize their message.



I am a firm believer in the idea that students will do better if they draw what they love, if they have a say in what they use to draw with and if they feel that they have ownership over the whole process............and why shouldn't they. Honestly, it is more enjoyable for them and less stressful for me to allow students to set them and the majority of the time they are better than what I would have tossed out there all on my own. And the really cool thing is that it is a perfect example of practicing 21st century skills (Collaboration, Creativity, Communication), not just with me but with their classmates and between classes as well and they still have the opportunity to have their independent and individual style show through in the final work. 2 more weeks and we will package up and put it all away, ending the season. But who am I kidding, we will still be a top contender for Hoarders: Education Edition.


 

Well....they are up!!!

They are set, kids are drawing, and as much as I want to be able to say YAY and WOOHOO..............I just can't get past the the crazy mess my classroom becomes when still life season descends. My desk becomes covered...and it stays covered pretty much for the remainder of the year after this...........supplies are misplaced by students and myself........projects get placed in nooks and crannies from my advanced kids...... and the room becomes almost claustrophobic.

This year I handed boxes filled with items to my students and asked them to set the displays. We spent approximately 2 full days arranging, rearranging, and evaluating each others displays. I am very happy with giving them ownership of the process. There are a total of 7 still life displays available for the students to choose from. As we normally do, we started off creating thumbnails to help narrow their choices down. But this time I also asked my students to use their cell phones to develop and choose their final compositions. 

One of the bonuses to using the technology is that many of the students can send their images to my school email and we can print them in black and white to further explore values. For students who don't have this technology we have a classroom camera that they can use to snap their composition and print it out.


Don't get me wrong, it isn't that I don't see a value in the still life process. On the contrary, I think it is an essential part of any art program, just like color theory, 3-d explorations, and other areas of art.  Students need to be able to learn to use their observational skills and refine them. It helps them to develop and create important details in other art areas and disciplines. Developing the ability to identify details  is a skill that can be used in many professions.  I just have a hard time with all of the crazy disarray and piling  that occurs with the set ups in the room.

Treasure hunting.............

Still life season is upon us! and that means Treasure Hunting!!! I have my trusty hunting license (driver's license) and my weapon of choice (cash) and I am ready to stalk my prey through yard sales, thrift shops, eBay and auctions but alas I have no idea what I am really looking for. Setting me loose at any of those places without direction, is just an accident waiting to happen. One of the hardest things for me to determine is what goes into the still life set ups every year. I try to have at least 6 different set ups so students have choices and space to work.  I want each of my still life set ups to tell a story that the artist and the audience can connect with. It should have varying degrees of difficulty through textures, reflections, and composition possibilities to allow students some flexibility. The objects need to make sense together as well.  I don't want my students looking at their piece later asking why was an egg beater next to a soccer shoe.  I have set up faux vegetable displays and not faux-(I don't reccomend using real food), a pirates paradise with treasure trunk and skeleton, Holiday decorations for fall and winter(Halloween and Christmas), farmhouse abundance themes with metalware, crocks, and tins,, primitive themes with crocks, ball jars, eggs and apples, musical instruments, sports themes,  and the usual fall squashes and gourds to name a few, but this year I am at a loss. No brilliant ideas yet and we have hit the July 4th back to school countdown. I was really hoping to bring in all new or at least some new set ups this year.  Right now I am getting a little nervous. The last time this happened I wound up with lots of junk from the Goodwill, (yay for me) but still no set up.

What is your favorite still life set up to draw or to use in the classroom. or your least favorite!  What have you done that you feel is the most successful or enjoyable. Or if you were drawing the still life, what would you like to draw?  Please leave some suggestions as my pirate skeleton, Mr. Bones, is really ready for a vacation himself this year. Unfortunately, he lost a few toes last year and probably should stay off of his feet.